A lot’s changed over the last year and as we look at 2026, one thing is very clear.. the playbook for building and launching digital products and experiences has completely evolved. One thing that hasn’t changed though is being very clear on who your brand is for (and who it isn’t for).

Given it’s the end of the year and everyone’s heading off to the holidays, I thought I’d do something a little different this week. We’ve been doing a lot of building/launching products with clients this year and I wanted to share v1 of our new GTM strategy playbook with you. This is something we’ve been testing with clients and includes the whole framework with no sign ups, paywalls or data walls required for subscribers.

This playbook is designed for operators and go-to-market teams at mid-sized companies who are launching new products, entering new markets, or repositioning existing offerings to accelerate growth.

The framework below is super practical and based on how we’ve been guiding clients at StealthX in 2025. If you end up using it, all I ask is that you forward this email along to someone else so they can get value from it too 😊

Side note: This email is pretty long. If it gets cut off or you’d prefer to read on the web, check out the whole thing here.

Your ICP is not "companies that could use our product." It’s the specific segment where you have the highest probability of winning, the shortest sales cycles, and the strongest product-market fit. Precision here drives everything downstream.

A complete ICP definition answers five questions:

Complete this for your primary ICP segment:

Different company sizes have different buyer personas, pain point severity, and purchasing authority. Map your ICP across segments to identify where you will focus:

A critical strategic choice: Are you targeting buyers who are replacing an existing solution, or buyers implementing something for the first time? Each requires different positioning:

Tip: Replacement buyers are typically faster to close because they already have budget allocated. If your market has established competitors, lean into the replacement narrative and explicitly address "Why switch from [competitor]?" 

Your value proposition is the promise you make to your ICP. It should be specific enough to resonate deeply with your target and clear enough to communicate in a single sentence.

A strong value proposition has three components:

Formula: We help [ICP] achieve [Outcome] by [Mechanism], unlike [Alternative] which [Limitation].

Your value proposition in one sentence: [Insert here]

Reasons to believe (RTBs) are the proof points that support your value proposition. Without them, your promise is just marketing. With them, it becomes credible.

Categories of RTBs:

Positioning is how you occupy a distinct place in your buyer's mind relative to alternatives. It is not what you say about yourself. It is what your buyer believes about you.

Complete each element to build a coherent positioning strategy:

Map your capabilities against competitors to identify and communicate differentiation:

Tip: Focus on 2-3 capabilities where you have clear advantage. Trying to win on everything dilutes your positioning. The goal is to be the obvious choice for your specific ICP, not the "pretty good" choice for everyone.

Structure your messaging from broad to specific:

Your buyers move through predictable stages. Each stage has different information needs, emotional states, and barriers. Mapping this journey ensures you deliver the right content at the right time.

Not everyone is ready to talk to sales. Design CTAs for different intent levels:

Every element of your GTM strategy is a hypothesis until validated by the market. The goal is to test cheaply and quickly before committing significant resources. This section provides practical methods to validate your assumptions.

Test in this order (cheapest/fastest first):

A lightweight framework for validating ICP and messaging before full launch:

Test Variables:

Complement quantitative testing with 5-10 structured interviews:

Interview Script Template:

If your product can demonstrate value without requiring a full sales cycle, use it as a validation mechanism:

A phased approach to GTM reduces risk and allows for course correction. This template provides a 12-month framework that you can adapt to your timeline and resources.

Track these metrics to measure GTM effectiveness:

Keep these principles in mind as you execute:

If you want to make progress immediately, complete these actions:

Onward & upward,
Drew

P.s. If we haven’t met yet, hello! I’m Drew Burdick, Founder and Managing Partner at StealthX. We work with brands to design & build great customer experiences that win. I share ideas weekly through this newsletter & over on the Building Great Experiences podcast. Have a question? Feel free to contact us, I’d love to hear from you.